Speak Now
by auTumnlove77
Summary: Oneshot. Damon is getting married and Elena is the only one who can stop him. Will she put aside their differences and say what's always been inside of her? Based off the song Speak Now.


**This is just a little Delena one- shot I thought up after listening to Taylor Swift's song Speak Now, which is amazing. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All rights go to Lj Smith, the CW, or Taylor Swift.**

"_Don't say yes, run away now_

_I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door_

_Don't wait or say another vow_

_You need to hear me out_

_And they said speak now."_

The sound of the door shutting was strangely final, and Elena shuddered slightly. She was alone. She always dreamed of this day to be liberating and jubilant, but instead she felt merely sad. Elena sighed and pulled away from the door, turning to face her new apartment. It was small, and empty. It was missing something, but Elena couldn't figure out what. She looked from the living room, which was warm with its white walls and large fireplace and cozy furniture, to her small modern kitchen, and to her bedroom with a large bed that dominated the whole room, along with mahogany furniture passed down to her by Jenna.

It was everything she wanted, but it still wasn't right. But she didn't feel like pursuing this. Elena was exhausted, spent from moving her things and arranging everything until perfection. Her steps echoed eerily as she walked to her bedroom, turned off the light and crawled into her bed. She felt like a little kid again, dwarfed by the giant bed, and slightly scared of the stagnant darkness. She buried herself deeper into her covers, trying to find some warmth, some comfort.

Finally, when none would come, she sat up with an indignant huff. From the dim moonlight now coming through the diaphanous curtains, she rifled through the duffle bag beside her bed, and pulled out a worn out and abused teddy bear. She stared at it for a few minutes, a slight smile lighting her lips. Then, with the stuffed bear secured in her arms, she fell asleep.

Elena was eating dinner the next night when Stefan came. The doorbell rang and she jumped a little. Jenna maybe? She opened the door cautiously.

"Stefan?" Surprise lit her voice. It couldn't be him. But it had to be. Of course he hadn't changed much in theses past years, the only difference being more prominent dark circles under his eye. But how _dare_ he come here? After what he and… Damon did to her…

"Elena!" Stefan cried, joy eminent on his face. To her complete surprise, he ran forward and captured her in a warm hug. He pulled back and studied her appreciatively, a smile still on his face. "You look really good. It's been too long."

Elena was speechless, mute from bewilderment and anger. She swallowed. "What are you doing here Stefan?" she managed, her voice hoarse with disuse.

"I've got bad news…and I know they don't want you to come… well she doesn't at least. But I think you should go at least for him, and because I was kinda hoping you could maybe…"

"Stefan. Slow down. What are you talking about?"

Stefan studied her apprehensively as if weighing whether she could handle whatever he was about to dump on her. Elena knew that look, and flashes of memories danced across her eyes. She braced herself, grabbing the chair behind her to steady herself.

"It's Damon and Katherine. They're getting married."

Silence fell like an axe. Elena felt her jaw drop. No. No, no, no, no, no. She opened her mouth, and closed it. Stefan looked annoyingly guilty, and that made her angry.

"He and Katherine are _what_?" Her voice came out as a strangled hiss.

"I know." Stefan studied the floor. "I didn't believe it either. It just isn't right."

"The hell it isn't! Why would they marry?" Elena was practically screaming now. She had no idea where any of this was coming from. She was never this violent. She felt like storming out of her apartment, finding Damon, and strangling him. Woah. Elena took a deep, calming breath and unclenched her fists. Better. "Is…is that why he…left?" Her voice was hushed, and she was studying the same tile Stefan was.

"Yes. They disappeared for a year. Then they just came back to the boarding house a couple days ago, and the plans were made…"

Elena exhaled slowly. "And what does this have to do with me?"

"Katherine is using him. I know she'll just break him and discard him, like before. And I don't know if he'll make it this time. But he won't listen to me. He thinks I'm jealous…" He trailed off, and their eyes met. Stefan's green eyes were cold and bitter. "But he might listen to you. I want you to talk him out of it…before it's too late."

"What is this? Some sort of messed up cliché soap opera? If I didn't make it clear before, I don't want anything to do with you two anymore, especially Damon." Why did it still hurt to say his name?

Stefan closed his eyes wearily. "Elena, I don't know if you still love him, but I know he still loves you. And I know you'd be good for him… better than Katherine. Please… think about it at least." He gave her a last long look before dropping something on her table and leaving without another word.

Not really how she expected their reunion to be.

Elena picked up the little piece of paper that Stefan dropped on her table. It was an invitation to _their_ wedding. She grimaced, and walked to her bedroom, ready to rip it into pieces, when something caught her eye. It was one of her favorite pictures. Damon was smiling, the kind of wild, carefree smile that made her heart race. He had an arm draped casually around her shoulder, and she was pushing him away unsuccessfully, but she was smiling too, a sarcastic smile, and a happy one. Next to her were Caroline and Stefan, Caroline in the middle of saying something and Stefan was looking highly amused. In front of them were Jeremy and Bonnie. Jeremy had tackled Bonnie, and they were both in hysterics. Last of all came Matt, still out of breath from running to beat the timer on the camera.

A tear escaped Elena, running freely down her cheek. Those were the good days. She could hardly believe it was two years ago. She stared at the invitation again. But maybe it wasn't too late.

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"Damon! Please no! I love you!"

Damon's blue eyes were cold. "You lost your chance Elena. I love Katherine now."

Katherine stalked up, every step laden with savage triumph. Elena stared horrified at her evil doppelganger. She traced a finger on Damon's chest, and he turned to her and kissed her. Elena cried out painfully.

Damon turned to her again. "Go away Elena. I never loved you. Goodbye forever." He and Katherine laughed cruelly and the two walked away.

"No!"

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"No!" Elena sat up violently in bed, her breath coming out in fevered gasps.

It was only just a dream.

Elena buried her head in her hands, and realized that she was crying. She hadn't had that dream in about a year.

And then there was that feeling. The feeling that she was missing something, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find it.

She had a feeling she knew what it was.

Elena looked at the time. 10:00 A.M. The wedding was at 2:00. She had four hours. Would she? Should she?

Elena took her time getting ready, taking a leisurely shower to loosen her still tense muscles. She blow dried and styled her hair tediously, and applied her makeup carefully. She had changed subtly over the past two years. She had layered her hair, and it framed her hair in slight, natural waves. Her face lost some of her roundness, and her eyes seemed more mature somehow.

She rifled through her closet, not really sure what she was looking for. She pulled out a dress she had almost forgotten she had. It was a sheer ivory color, with shimmering gold flowers inscribed on it. It was short, and finished off with an ivory bow. It was beautiful.

Elena, almost in a trance, slipped it on. It fit perfectly. She smiled at herself in the mirror. She watched as determination coalesced in her eyes. Oh no. She was going to go, wasn't she?

For Stefan. For Damon.

Elena never knew that a bitch could have so many friends. She supposed that if you lived for 600 years, you get to know a lot of people.

They were milling about on the manicured lawn. She wondered with a shiver how many of them were vampires. Or how many were Damon's friends. She smiled at that thought. She turned many heads, mostly in confusion.

"Katherine?" asked a pale, blond headed male.

A girl whacked him on the arm. "No. Katherine would never dress like that." Elena looked self consciously at her dress. "This must be Elena. She said she would be coming." Her voice trailed off into a whisper.

Elena stared at them suspiciously, but pushed it out of her head. She had to find Stefan. And more importantly, Damon. Panic bubbled up in her. What if she couldn't find him? What if it was too late? Elena somehow knew that when Damon said "I do." He would never resurface from Katherine's spell, until she was done with whatever she wanted from him, where she would throw him away like trash.

What did she want from him anyway? What would she achieve by marrying him? Now a white hot anger replaced the panic in her chest.

She snuck carefully through the crowd, avoiding any confrontations. She glanced at her phone, wishing she hadn't deleted Damon's number. It was 1:45. Where was he? Suddenly, Elena slammed mercilessly into an unsuspecting person.

"Get out of my…" Elena looked up, and the words stuck in her throat. She couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, could only relish in the electricity that connected her brown eyes to cool blue.

Damon.

"Elena." It wasn't a question, it was an awed statement. They took each other in. They both seemed incapable of speech. Elena never forgot how beautiful he was, she had kept his image perfectly intact in her dreams. But in person, that beauty seemed to be personified, as those irreplaceable blue eyes searched her. Elena wanted so bad to break that silence, to reach out and stroke his cheeks, to kiss those perfect lips…

Damon shook his head, as if to clear it. "What are you doing here?" he whispered.

Elena was slowly memorizing each of his features, his scent, but nothing could compare to the real thing. She sighed. "I'm here to save you. From Katherine, I mean."

Damon's eyes widened. "Save me? I'm not usually the damsel in distress type. Elena, I love her. And she loves me."

Elena pursed her lips. "Damon you know that's a lie. She's just using you. How could you just run into her arms as if nothing happened? She ignored you for 145 years."

"She had her reasons. But why do you suddenly care? "

"I always cared about you Damon." Elena's voice rose in pitch. She had so much more to say, but the words seemed to all run over themselves. How much she missed him, how each day seemed gray without his sarcastic remarks, how she didn't just care for him…it was much more…

"But, Elena, it was never enough."He took a step closer until they were only inches apart, staring each other down with venom in their eyes. "I never loved you" Damon said, accentuating each word. "You were just my Katherine replacement." He took a step back. "I have to go now. The wedding is starting. Just leave, Elena." His look was full of pain as he walked away, leaving a broken hearted Elena behind.

But she wasn't about to give up.

The guests were all sitting on the white lawn chairs set up on the immaculate lawn. Elena slipped into a chair nearest to the aisle, but a couple rows away from the altar. Now what?

She studied Damon at the end of the aisle. What he said couldn't be true. Those were just Katherine's words, twisted into his mouth. But…he looked amazing, standing there in his suit, love shining through his eyes, and uncertainty too. She couldn't let Katherine break him again.

And speak of the devil, literally. Katherine was standing at the end of the aisle as some sort of distorted music started to announce her arrival. And Elena, had to admit, she looked stunning. She was wearing a black wedding dress, which cascaded out from the waist like an inky waterfall. Her curly hair was caught up in a perfect high bun anad her devious face was half hidden by a black veil. A sly smile played across her face. Alone, she strutted down the aisle like some exotic supermodel, ignoring Elena completely.

Elena noticed for the first time that Stefan was standing next to Damon. He caught her eye and smiled encouragingly.

She knew what to do.

The beginning of the wedding was a blur to Elena. She was terrified. Why did it have to be her? It still felt as if she were in some horrible soap opera or her own living nightmare.

For Damon, she thought again. And with it came a pearl of hope, which she held onto tightly.

Because she loved him. She always did, and always would.

And then came the words she had been waiting for, anticipating, dreading…

"Speak now, or forever hold your peace." The words boomed from the priests mouth, and a tense, hot silence fell upon the crowd, all waiting to see if anyone would dare to stand.

Elena suddenly felt as though she floated outside her body. She took a deep breath. Katherine watched her with narrowed eyes and a triumphant smile, as if she knew. She did know.

And then Elena stood up, begging her legs not to fail her.

All eyes fell on her, eyes widened in horrified surprise. But Elena didn't see any of them. She only saw Damon. He watched her with a multitude of emotions Elena couldn't interpret in his eyes. Pain and confusion and anger, which made Elena want to sit right back down again, or run out without a word. But there was also hope, and love, which made Elena sure she was going to do what she was about to do.

Elena swallowed and opened her mouth.

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"_I am not the kind of girl,_

_Who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion,_

_But you are not the kind of boy_

_Who should be marrying the wrong girl."_

**And that's it! Thank you for reading. I know it didn't make much sense so I might make another chapter for a back story. It all depends. Did you like it? Hate it? Review!**


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